Nagbhushan Deshpandey is an engineer turned filmmaker who graduated from Prague Film School 2017-2018. After his graduation from Prague, he has been working in Kannada film industry as an assistant director for films and commercials. Some of the notable films include “Pedro” (2021) and “Juni” (2024). “Bera Hudukida Mara” (Distant) is his first attempt after graduation from PFS.
Distant screened at Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival
The film begins with a fight between a husband and a wife, with the man calling his wife a whore for working at a hair salon for men, and she insisting she is not going to quit. The man then leaves the house, leaving 13-year-old Rohith, who listened to the whole thing, rather aggravated. The next day, his efforts to convince his dad to come home prove futile, and soon he tries something different, sabotaging his mother’s work any way he can, despite her efforts to prevent him from doing so. An event, however, makes him rethink his ways.
Nagbhushan Deshpandey shoots a film that takes a rather pointed jab at patriarchy, by showing how a kid Rohith’s age is suck into it, without even realizing it. As we watch him going to extremes to sabotage his mother’s work, not even thinking of trying more to convince his father, the comment becomes quite evident. That it takes a rather shocking event to change his mind actually adds to this comment, while allowing the director to close his 13-minute short, with a positive, although still realistic in its inconclusiveness, note.
Check also this interview
At the same time, the comment about domestic violence and the impact it can have on children, concludes the commentary here, even if in a somewhat mislead way. On a second note, one could also refer to the whole series of events as a coming-of-age for Rohith, which does come violently, but is, nevertheless, quite effective, implying that people, even in that age, do not change their way of thinking easily.
Rajesh M. Marmanahalli in the protagonist role is good on occasion, but not so convincing at other, particularly the ones he needs to emote intensely. His performance, however, serves its purpose, and as such, it can easily be described as a positive element.
Enosh Olivera’s cinematography captures the suffocating setting the mother and son inhabit convincingly, with the scenes that are presented through sound and through Rohith’s reactions also working quite well. Sharath Vashisht’s editing results in a relatively fast tempo, which allows the story to be presented without rushing.
Although some technical issues, particularly with the sound, do exist here, “Distant” emerges as a competent short, which presents its comments quite eloquently.
